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Bryan Irons photos
Rigid Industries “Capture”
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Rigid Industries “Capture”
GoPro camera is not included in the Capture kit.
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Bryan Irons photos
Rigid Industries “Capture”
Some simple bending made the Capture fit right to the winch.
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Bryan Irons photos
Rigid Industries “Capture”
We purchased a Daystar switch panel to house Rigid’s Carling switches.
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Bryan Irons photos
Rigid Industries “Capture”
The view from the Capture, even the sun couldn’t mess up a good picture.
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Rigid Industries “Capture”
Pumping 5,880 lumens on high beam, the Capture throws good light that is centered for the GoPro.
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Rigid Industries “Capture”
At full wide angle, you will see the outer lens cover.
Review & photos by Bryan Irons
Lights, Camera…. And Action - Rigid’s Capture melds LED lightbar and GoPro carrier in one
A few months ago you may recall our enthusiasm over the final release of Rigid Industries “Capture” lighting system. The new unit that combined Rigid’s phenomenal off-road lighting wizardry with the practical mounting of a GoPro 3+ or 4 model camera.
Just to recap, the curved housing of the Capture is of the same structure as any of Rigid’s dual row lighting products, that is to say… tough as one of Uncle Joes road kill roasts. The included wiring harness and switches allow for segregated control of the lights’ high/low beam and the Camera’s charging circuit. We wish a switch to toggle the cameras “record” function could be implemented, but being able to use our phones Bluetooth connection to do so without fear of killing the GoPro’s battery sure was nice. Included is a set of amber lenses if you are trying to either film, see, or a combination of the two, in fog.
When our Capture showed up (yes, we ordered the white edition on purpose!), complete with stainless mounting brackets and a well-made wiring harness, we were all to eager to mount it up. We had, in our haste, neglected to surmise a way to actually mount the switch controls. A dual switch pod is included, but we wanted something else. We found Daystars newly released Universal Roll Bar Switch Panel online, and were eager to hit the “Buy Now” button. The Capture uses Carling style switches; as does the Daystar mount… hence our hastiness to get it!
While we waited, we went to install the Capture. The included brackets are originally designed for mounting on a flat surface and even include backing plates for a solid mount, but as usual, this wouldn’t help us much. With a little metal massaging using a 20-ton shop press we coaxed the fancy brackets into a form that easily bolted up to our winch.
Once we had our new Daystar switch panel in, it was a matter of popping out two of the Daystar switches and wiring in the Rigid switches. Plugin connectors are used and the instructions make it a ‘monkey see, editor do’ affair. The only parts you will need to supply are a pair of hole clamps that match the diameter of tubing your using.
So enough of the boring install stuff… how does it work? Well, dam well. With our GoPro set to wide angle, we could see beyond the edge of the light pattern that was emitted (as you can see in our night test). Not a big deal as we rarely use this setting when out filming our off-road antics. When set to the “normal” viewing width, the Lenticular lens provides a cast of light that matches the GoPro’s field of view. The high beam belts out a whopping 5,880 lumens and will be sure to annoy the living daylights out of your buddies on the trail in front of you, but the low beams 1,764 Lumens allowed us to film without having to worry about catching a warning shot from one of the lead trucks. With the camera mounted centrally between the lights, no shadows were present in our photos or films, very nice indeed.
But what about during the day? We had a great time letting our passenger/accountant/wife take stills and film our tomfoolery for future proof of our idiocy. Being able to watch live coverage for hours on end was nice, and we even got to use it as a trail cam giving us forward vision over oncoming hills. And after a day on the trail, it was weird to have a dead phone battery, but the GoPro still fully charged. One particular run had many elevation changes that caused a little fog to develop in the IP68 rated housing, not a big deal, and it really didn’t surface as an issue again.
So, does a camera housing work within an LED lightbar? In a word, yes, better than we thought it would. If you are in the market for a high quality light that offers a great pattern and is useable and dependable, certainly look at the Capture. If you enjoy filming your adventures without worry of a suction mount coming off, be it time lapsing a cross-country drive, or making it up a gnarly trail with a chance of being in the dark, we think the Capture is right up your alley.
- Rigid Lighting – www.rigidindustries.com
- Daystar Products – www.daystarweb.com